The Dark Side with Verity

Verity sits down with VIDYA Facilitator Graduate, Hannah, a former corporate high-achiever who stumbled into a Breathwork class after a panic attack and walked out with a new path. They unpack Nervous System safety, why so many of us “hide” in our 30s, the power of community in healing, and the surprising breakthrough that rewrote Hannah’s story about motherhood and relationships. If you’ve ever felt stuck on autopilot, this one’s a hug for your whole system.Ready to lead with breath? Apply for VIDYA Breathwork™ Facilitator Training (100% online) or book a 1:1 with Verity. Share this episode with a friend who needs nervous-system safety and hope.🎧 Listen now and be sure to share this episode with anyone who needs to hear it.Connect & Train with Verity● @verityjocoonan @vidya_certification● Join Breathwork & healing ⁠APP @thevidyawellnessclub.app● Follow us on @thedarksidewithverity

Verity drops in with three grounding breaths and welcomes Shauna, VIDYA Facilitator graduate, an Irish Breathwork + mindset coach based in Perth, who casually reveals she’s 24 weeks pregnant. They unpack how Breathwork helped Shauna process lifelong grief, open a spiritual side she didn’t know she had, and build a flexible business serving FIFO workers, men who don’t love “talking,” and community retreats. Real talk on trusting your timing, and designing a career that evolves with motherhood.Ready to lead with breath? Apply for VIDYA Breathwork™ Facilitator Training (100% online) or book a 1:1 with Verity. Share this episode with a friend who needs nervous-system safety and hope.🎧 Listen now and be sure to share this episode with anyone who needs to hear it.Connect & Train with Verity● @verityjocoonan @vidya_certification● Join Breathwork & healing ⁠APP @thevidyawellnessclub.app● Follow us on @thedarksidewithverity

Exhale the noise, inhale your Nervous System reset. This guided 4·7·8 practice slows your heart rate, softens tension, and signals safety to your body in under three minutes. Perfect before bed, between meetings, or anytime your mind is racing.A gentle drop-in to orient your body to safety4·7·8 cadence: inhale 4, hold 7, exhale 8 (repeated 4–8 rounds)Soothing cues to lengthen your exhale and melt residual stressA brief integration to lock in that calm, clear stateLonger exhales stimulate the parasympathetic (rest-and-digest) response, lowering arousal and helping you feel grounded, clear, and sleepy-ready if used at night.Evening wind-down or mid-day resetAnxiety spikes, decision fatigue, travel days, post-conflict cooldownsSit or lie down comfortably, jaw relaxed, tongue resting on the roof of your mouth.Inhale quietly through the nose for a count of 4.Hold gently for 7 (no strain).Exhale audibly through the mouth for 8, like fogging a mirror.Repeat 4–8 rounds.Tip: If the counts feel long, halve them (2·3·4) and build up.If you’re pregnant, dizzy, or have respiratory/cardiac concerns, please release the holds.

This practice isn’t just breathing, it’s Nervous System training.When we use structured Breathwork daily, especially in short intentional bursts like this, we’re teaching the body how to move between sympathetic activation (stress response) and parasympathetic regulation (rest, repair, clarity) with control instead of chaos.Most people live stuck in sympathetic mode, fast, overwhelmed, reactive, “on” all the time.Belly breathing activates the diaphragm, signalling safety to the brain.Mouth breathing with holds applies a controlled dose of stress, which strengthens our capacity to feel intensity without shutting down.This is resilience building, not avoidance.We intentionally elevate the system on purpose and then guide it back down, creating flexibility, adaptability, and emotional stability over time.Like training a muscle, each round builds tolerance.Your Nervous System learns:I can feel more, stay present, and return to safety.And this is how we rewire patterns of anxiety, urgency, freeze, shutdown and overthinking, gently, consistently, through the breath.Ready to lead with breath? Apply for VIDYA Breathwork™ Facilitator Training (100% online) or book a 1:1 with Verity. Share this episode with a friend who needs nervous-system safety and hope.🎧 Listen now and be sure to share this episode with anyone who needs to hear it.Connect & Train with Verity● @verityjocoonan @vidya_certification● Join Breathwork & healing ⁠APP @thevidyawellnessclub.app● Follow us on @thedarksidewithverity

In this episode of The Dark Side with Verity, Verity Jo Coonan explores what it really means to let go of the “good girl” conditioning so many of us carry. From school systems that reward compliance, to the pressure of being perfect in every role, mother, partner, business owner, this ingrained pattern often leads to exhaustion and burnout.Verity shares her own struggles with learning, perfectionism, and coping mechanisms, and how these patterns show up in VIDYA Breathwork™ Facilitator Training. She dives into why true growth requires embracing the messy parts, understanding your unique learning style, and moving beyond surface-level “goodness” into embodied transformation.This raw and real conversation is for anyone ready to release the need to appear perfect and instead step into authenticity, resilience, and deep self-understanding.🎧 Listen now and be sure to share this episode with anyone who needs to hear it.Connect & Train with Verity● @verityjocoonan @vidya_certification● Join Breathwork & healing ⁠APP @thevidyawellnessclub.app● Follow us on @thedarksidewithverity